Schools That Work:

Every classroom at Forest Lake Elementary in South Carolina is furnished with a variety of tech tools to enrich lessons (left). Student Matthew participates in a Webquest in the school's multimedia lab (right). Learn more about this school.

Credit: Grace Rubenstein

What Is Successful Technology Integration?

A key transition over the history of information technology has been in the shift from passive audiences to active users. Digital technologies permit users unprecedented control over the content they consume and the place in and pace at which they consume it. At the heart of effective technology integration practices, digital technologies offer learners greater opportunities to be more actively involved in the learning experience.

One theme that has emerged from the research to date is that simply adding technology to K-12 environments does not necessarily improve learning. Rather, what matters most is how students and teachers use technology to develop knowledge and skills. Successful technology integration for learning generally goes hand in hand with changes in teacher training, curricula, and assessment practices (Zucker and Light, 2009; Bebell and O'Dwyer, 2010; Innovative Teaching and Learning Research, 2011). Edutopia's review of the literature also finds that successful technology integration generally involves three key principles:

Students playing an active role in their learning and receiving frequent, personalized feedback

Students critically analyzing and actively creating media messages

Teachers connecting classroom activities to the world outside the classroom

In the next section, we will look at research on technology integration practices that improve K-12 learning and will highlight specific tools.

The issue of weather or not the technology trying to be included is beneficial or not to an effective learning enviroment will always be an issue that will only be found out, in some cases, through implementation and testing. But it is good to see that students playing an active role in their learning and receiving frequent, personalized feedback, students critically analyzing and actively creating media messages, and teachers connecting classroom activities to the world outside the classroom. Very informative article and links.

I think that technology is extremely beneficial to students in many different ways most students learn by seeing and doing rather than just reading listening. I believe that technology in the classroom helps students with different learning style to learn better.